Hundreds in support of Alton education gather for the annual Employee First Day Breakfast

GODFREY — The River Bend Arena exuded intense excitement and anticipation, with a large crowd of teachers, faculty, administration, community leaders, local officials, law enforcement and others, as a kickoff to the start of a new school year.

The arena at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey once again was the site for the 24th annual Employee First Day Breakfast hosted by Alton School District. The event acts as the first day for educators — with one day full of workshops to follow the breakfast this year — before students arrive for their first day of classes Thursday.

The annual event drew around 800 invited attendees, in support of the district and its students but also as an opportunity to greet district newcomers and see familiar faces following summer break.

A total of 30 new employees were hired to begin work for the 2017-18 school year, with one hired as recent as Tuesday. From those 30, one will teach at a district elementary school while the rest will serve specialty positions such as school nurse, psychologist, special education and high school math teacher.

Alton School District Superintendent Mark Cappel said how grateful he was to find people who are looking to not only be an educator, but to do so in the Alton district. He added that one new employee in particular told him personally how excited she is to join the district, after three years of applying for positions within the district.

Cappel was the final speaker to address the crowd during the succinct, high-spirited program Wednesday morning.

He thanked clerical, custodians, first responders, certified and non-certified administration and others in attendance working together to make the school year possible, though the “big question looms over us all.”

“Our financial outlook without Senate Bill 1 (SB1) looks more bleak than it ever has before,” said Cappel. With state aid payments not received by the district in the past two months, the district looks to state legislatures to get a funding formula in place to allow distribution of needed school funds soon.

On a different note, Cappel said though the morning event makes for his favorite day each school year, he looks forward to the smiling students with big dreams who are excited to start school come Thursday.

“Establishing relationships with the kids is key,” said Cappel to the attendees.

The district welcomes in four administrators including Director of Financial Services Mary Schell, North Elementary School Principal Heather Johnson, West Elementary School Assistant Principal Jordan Brannon and Alton Middle School Assistant Principal Lisa Harris. Pcf. Doug Schaefer and Pcf. Brent Bertschi also join the district as new school resource officers.

District newcomers were recognized along with retirees, who seemed to have gleefully enjoyed their last first day of school.

Human resources assistant to the district Rosie Young was no exception.

“I’ve been here so long because I love what I do,” said Young. Young, 56, is set to retire after almost 19 years in her current position, and nearly 26 years serving the district in various positions.

Her advice to the new-coming teachers, as well as the approximately 25 new support staff members is to “invest in your job and have longevity and loyalty with the school district.”

Young, an Alton native, said children need stability and sometimes educators are the only ones in their lives to be able to do so. Embodying such sentiment, Young said she has a passion for her work, respects what people do and is honored to serve the district through her last year.

Food services provider Aramark and district staff helped facilitate the breakfast. Event sponsors were Liberty Bank and Lewis and Clark Community College along with eight support sponsorships.

Alton High School Principal Mike Bellm began the event with Alton High Air Force Junior ROTC leading the Pledge of Allegiance and school choir members singing the National Anthem. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Kristie Baumgartner, Alton Educational Foundation President Ryan Bemis, Alton Police Department Chaplain Marc Lane and President of Alton Education Association David Schwartz also were speakers at the hour-long program.